The version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 redesigned for the German Market, the 10.1N …

Samsung's modified Galaxy Tab for the German market—the 10.1N—seems to be sufficiently different than the iPad in design and likely won't face an injunction, a judge said on Thursday. Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann made the statement during a hearing in Germany over the modified device, implying that the Dusseldorf court may rule in Samsung's favor when the decision deadline rolls around on February 9.

After Apple won an initial ruling against Samsung's Galaxy Tab in Germany earlier this year, Samsung redesigned the tablet slightly in order to inch itself away from the iPad's design. The Galaxy Tab 10.1N was designed only for the German market—the most prominent change being the metal frame around the edge of the device that now wraps around the front instead of laying flat—but Apple still raised complaints, filing for an injunction against the 10.1N in November.

Despite Apple's complaint, however, Judge Brueckner-Hoffman disagreed. "According to the court's assessment, the defendant has moved away sufficiently from the legally protected design," she said at the hearing, according to Reuters. She added that the court doesn't believe anyone is buying a Samsung tablet when they think they are getting an iPad, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. "[C]onsumers are well aware that there is an original and that competitors try to use similar designs, so buyers are vigilant when looking at products."

I'd have thought that the word Samsung on the front bezel would be enough for most buyers to know they were not buying an Apple product.

Never overestimate the common man.

I'm more optimistic: Never overestimate the common man when he's buying presents for his kids on Dec 24th.

*Sees a lineup at the Apple Store**Sees Samsung Galaxy Tab at Best Buy*"Fuckit, close enough"

*kids complain its not an iPad**he discovers it's a shitty device**buys an iPad for himself**kids forget Kindle and use his iPad**buys another iPad**kindle sales die off after Xmas**apple reduces iPad 2 price when iPad 2S and iPad 3 lauch**iPod pricing strategy comes to iPad line**iPad smokes the Fire*

Meh, why was there a quarrel over that tablet in the first place? Samsungs tablet has Samsung on the front of it, which would be distinctive enough for anyone with half a brain.

To answer your main question of why:Appl was fuming that this tablet fast more powerful, slimmer and... better than it's ipad.It couldnt beat it in specs or even thinness.How can you bad mouth a piece of tech that is better than yours? Since thats just wayyy to hard, you release the scum... also known as lawyers.

Hat Monster wrote:

It's still clearly a blatant rip off of an iPad.

It has a screen, ON THE FRONT, just like an iPad does.

It has a bezel, SHAMELESSLY copying the iPad by putting it around the screen, exactly as Apple does.

Few companies other than Samsung could have pulled that trick of redesign--> manufacture -> test-> to market as fast as Sammy did.

Appl must be *pissed*, if there was some way to measure exactly how pissed and I could be paid via the millimeter/milliliter of that measurement I would be a very very very rich dude!

what was quick about it?its been going on for months, and no one said they started manufacturing the new case for it yet.would have been stupid if they did as the judge just now passed ruling the new design was acceptable.

One look?! One look!? *cue the Magnum awesomeness*I still can't tell the tablets apart from twenty feet away, but I don't memorize the industrial design of most products when there's a screen that changes regularly that I'd rather focus on. It was stupid to stop the original, however similar it looked. Go soulless megacorp Samsung vs. soulless consumer gadget corp Apple!

"[C]onsumers are well aware that there is an original and that competitors try to use similar designs, so buyers are vigilant when looking at products."

Wow.. Consumers are well aware that there is an original tablet? And I assume this implies that's the iPad... Just wow.

studentx wrote:

badpool wrote:

I'm more optimistic: Never overestimate the common man when he's buying presents for his kids on Dec 24th.

*Sees a lineup at the Apple Store**Sees Samsung Galaxy Tab at Best Buy*"Fuckit, close enough"

*kids complain its not an iPad**he discovers it's a shitty device**buys an iPad for himself**kids forget Kindle and use his iPad**buys another iPad**kindle sales die off after Xmas**apple reduces iPad 2 price when iPad 2S and iPad 3 lauch**iPod pricing strategy comes to iPad line**iPad smokes the Fire*

what was quick about it?its been going on for months, and no one said they started manufacturing the new case for it yet.would have been stupid if they did as the judge just now passed ruling the new design was acceptable.

It wasn't a ruling, this was apparently a statement in a hearing. Or so the article says.

Total anecdote situation, it was a little surreal to go to Best Buy and see lots of people checking out the "regular" tablet and e-book reader aisle, and there was no one playing at the separate iPad 2 section. I have no doubt that was just a timing thing, and says nothing about sales anyway, but it was as unexpected as my kid liking the Galaxy Tab more than her grandparents' iPad 2 (at least in Angry Birds comparisons). It's good to see true competition for the consumer, even if Samsung agents broke in Mission Impossible-style and stole Apple's holy secrets.

Thank God they made this change. Before the changed appearance I was confusing the Galaxy Tab with the iPad, my boxers with my hat, and my ironing board with my toaster. Thanks to the new design, I have one less thing to worry about!

This comment makes me wonder: How is the common's man's intelligence measured? I mean, how do you logically determine when two products may be confused by the general populace? We don't expect anyone to get confused at the grocery store when buying ketchup. People seem to have no difficulty separating the crappy store brand ketchup from the totally sublime and magical Heinz. Why can't they be expected to simply look at the "SAMSUNG" on the front of the tablet? I'm not saying that the product isn't a slavish imitation of the iPad, but this practice seems fairly common across a wide array of industries.

WereCatf wrote:

zombie wrote:

I'd have thought that the word Samsung on the front bezel would be enough for most buyers to know they were not buying an Apple product.

Then they started in on all this shit with the iPods, iPhones, and iPads. They seem to think that they are the only company that should be allowed to innovate and anyone else is copying them.

They may have done a lot of good for pushing modern UI's on us and some of their machine are just pure win. I still have a great love for the Pismo, Beige G3 Tower and the G5. That being said:

Die Apple. I will drink my coffee while reading of your downfall ad the competitors out clone, out innovate, out sell and out lawyer you. Your walled garden is going to be pissed in. Steve was the only thing holding you together. Please go quietly into the night, your time in the sun is over. The world wants open. The world wants affordable. The world (that would be me) does not want you. So stick it up your iAss.

Doesn't matter. Between the iPad and the Kindle no one is gaining any ground.

By Kindle I don't mean the Fire. It doesn't seem to be selling very well anymore.

Where do you get the magic Kindle Fire sales numbers?

Amazon.

Just like any other company you announce the sales numbers when there good and talk shit when there unimpressive.

Because it has been a full week (!) since they mentioned (AKA boasted) they were selling a million Kindle/week?

Or you mean because they didn’t break out the numbers for each device in their line?

Because the later doesn’t necessarily mean it is the Fire sucking wind, since if the purchase distribution in uneven in any way they’d be talking some part of their line to do so. Even if the sales were even across the whole line they’d be putting out a number smaller than “1 million/week” that could be quoted and talked about. "Control the message."

Few companies other than Samsung could have pulled that trick of redesign--> manufacture -> test-> to market as fast as Sammy did.

Appl must be *pissed*, if there was some way to measure exactly how pissed and I could be paid via the millimeter/milliliter of that measurement I would be a very very very rich dude!

what was quick about it?its been going on for months, and no one said they started manufacturing the new case for it yet.would have been stupid if they did as the judge just now passed ruling the new design was acceptable.

Um.. you clearly have no experience with manufacturing. Even a minuscule change like changing a color carries manufacturing risks and need extensive planning and tests.

"According to the court's assessment, the defendant has moved away sufficiently from the legally protected design," she said at the hearing, according to Reuters. She added that the court doesn't believe anyone is buying a Samsung tablet when they think they are getting an iPad, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. "[C]onsumers are well aware that there is an original and that competitors try to use similar designs, so buyers are vigilant when looking at products."

Thank you for finally saying this, your honor. Now please explain why this thought didn't enter your brain during the original trial.

Doesn't matter. Between the iPad and the Kindle no one is gaining any ground.

By Kindle I don't mean the Fire. It doesn't seem to be selling very well anymore.

Where do you get the magic Kindle Fire sales numbers?

Amazon.

Just like any other company you announce the sales numbers when there good and talk shit when there unimpressive.

I was under the impression that Amazon never publicizes their sales numbers. But they mentioned recently that they were selling 1 million kindle devices a week and that it was mostly comprised of the Fire (according to them it was the most successful product they have had in their history).